Real-time object segmentation using disparity map of stereo matching

This paper presents algorithms for the real-time object segmentation of the noisy disparity map obtained by stereo matching algorithm and its verification test using hardware architectures. The disparity map contains lots of noise from various causes, and it has to be refined by some noise filtering methods to make it useful for the object segmentation. Therefore refinement process is a necessary process prior to segmentation process. In our approach, refinement method based on noise removal technique is adopted for improvement of the disparity map quality. And the projection-based region merging method is used for object segmentation. The proposed algorithms are implemented in FPGA board. Results of the test show that our approach works precisely and its performance fits in conditions of real-time application. The developed real-time object segmentation system could be useful for various applications such as face recognition, object tracking, and other applications with the support of proper embedded software.